Beginnings to Endings
by Raidragon
Summary: A young boy started his journey like any other only to find that there was more to it than what it seems. Friends, romance, adventures and a fate lies before him and those he holds dear. first fic. R&R. K but T just in case
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own maple story, it is a property of Wizet and Nexon. _

Prologue

"In the beginning, before the human race had walked on this holy ground, a legendary creature lived peacefully in the deepest depth of the caverns. It was docile and unchanged by the passage of time. The Zakum was the guardian of balance and was responsible for the peace and harmony of all lands. Once this was achieved, the Zakum went dormant and would only awaken when the balance is broken…" The old man lowered his book looked at the eager youngsters in front of him. "At least that what the legend says."

"Soooo, what happened next grandpa?" asked one of the youngsters, also known as Athena.

"Well as I said it is only a legend and not to be taken too seriously," the old man replied. "If by any chance that the legend is real, the world today remains at a constant balance."

"What if the world becomes unbalanced and the legend was true?" Athena asked again with a hint of worry in her words.

A shadow crept behind the girl and arms reached for her shoulders. "Then the world will be destroyed," the figure uttered with an eerie voice.

Athena let out a screech before quickly turning around and slapping the figure who turned out to be one of her friends.

Another one of the youngsters with tanned skin let out a laugh on the two. "That was a good one Dark Lord. You were like oooooooooooo and she was like eeeeeeeek!! Its hilarious."

"Hmm. Dark Lord. I like it. From now on my new name is Dark Lord," says the other youngster with his cheek still red from the slap.

Athena turned and pointed at the tanned youngster. At the top of her lungs she scolded him. "And you should be ashamed of yourself for laughing at a sensitive and elegant girl like me. Your such a – such a…"

"A Balrog?" the tanned boy continued while making faces and strange noises. "That's because I danced and I danced and I danced with a Balrog in the night."

"That doesn't even make sense," she scowled.

"Now now. No need to be arguing amongst ourselves. We should instead get some sleep. The ship to Victoria leaves early tomorrow morning," said the last youth who was older and more mature than the other three.

The old man gave a small laugh before preparing to retire for the night. "You should listen to young Grendel here. The ship does leave early and your parents would worry if you're late."

They all bid each other goodnight and went of in their rooms to sleep.

Many years have passed since that cozy night in Maple Island. Now, four figures have appeared amidst the mist in Lith Harbor.

"So how long has it been?" A young woman's voice echoed within the early dawn of the town in the blanket of the mist. "I never thought that I'd hear from any of you again. The last time I've seen any of you was just after we waved goodbye to Grandpa Pierce."

"And so it was dear Athena. If I had know that things were about to turn out the way it did, then I would've suggested the boat to Lith as opposed to the one that runs to each of our towns," says an old man with a staff.

"It seems that you haven't changed one bit Grendel," this time it came from a dark figure that emerged from the mist. His face and entire body was covered in dark clothing and the only part he had exposed was his eyes, which showed the fatigue and pain that he had experienced.

"You appear to be fine-"

"Dark Lord," the dark figure said, abruptly cutting her off.

"I see… so the years have not been good to you as well."

"It was never been good for any of us since we separated," a tall man with tanned skin continued. His voice was deep yet strong. "I am now known as Dances with Balrog, even to you my friends. My former name seems too peaceful for this time."

Grendel paused briefly and looked at all of the others. "I guess that we have our first understanding, but the real reason we came here is, well, even if I don't say it, it should be obvious by now. Monsters have been more aggressive towards humans and their numbers have dramatically increased. I wanted to hear about your ideas on how we can solve this threat, as the four leaders of Victoria's leading cities." He spoke in a direct manner as he always did.

"A peace treaty sounds like the best option in our situation, however, the war has left many scars, both deep and light and some that will never heal," replied Dances with Balrog.

"People can be such ignorant fools. They won't easily accept one another, especially with the bloodfest around them." Dark Lord made a smirk from under his mask before speaking again. "Although, I am glad that those fools got rid of the warmongers whom we once regarded as the leaders of Victoria. Had they not beat me to it, I would have had to stain my hands with their foul blood."

"But do we have any ideas on how to unite our cities. No average rouge can just waltz into Henesys without getting ridiculed. The same is true for all the other classes to the different cities." Athena sighed. "Even at their death, those warmongers left us a big problem to solve."

"I have given it some thought. Right now the economy in Ellenia is getting worse everyday. As you know, Sixtopia is one of the leading helpers in Ellenia's economy, however, the war severely limited its routes and the ships were eventually used for combat. Currently, only 2 ships remain. The only hope to get us back on track is for an open trade to other places. I did not think that it was easy for our citizens to openly accept one another, however if trading will improve our economy more, it would be more widely accepted."

"That does sound to be an effective strategy. Why not work towards it. I'm sure that my warriors would not object. Though Perion developed resentment towards its fellow Victorians, a trade that would help to develop better armor is not something that they will easily turn down."

"My voice is the voice of Kerning. Grendel, your idea is fine with me. If they anyone objects then they will be run out of my city. I'll see to it personally."

Looking satisfied with the quick decisions made, Athena gave a simple nod. "So its settled. We will set up an open trade. Now all that's left is to make it official. Although a cease fire and trade is all that we can handle today, I am still glad that all of you are people I can trust."

"Still the sentimental type eh Athena? No matter how much we trust each other, we cannot force the will of others to do the same. It will take much time and work for them to even consider working with their enemies." Dark Lord looked at her straight and waited for a reply. Athena gave a positive smile which lifted the mood. "Hehe. You haven't changed one bit."

"I know I'm being idealistic, but if we don't take a step forward then who will? We are very fortunate that we strive for the same goal: peace in the island of Victoria"

"Agreed," the men said all at once. And with that, a new beginning for Victoria began to unfold.


	2. Trip to Maple Island

**Chapter 1: Trip to Maple Island, the Start of a Journey**

It was a beautiful afernoon in Lilith Harbor. The sun was shinning, clouds and trees provided shade and love was in the air. Indeed, couples were flocking in the market. The guys would give the girls presents while the girls talked among themselves, asking why their men would give them flowers and chocolates, when a set of tobis or an Asianic would've been more appreciated.

"Isn't it obvious? The guys are cheap. They don't want to buy the girls anything over 1000 mesos." A young man with red hair said to his friends. "If I had a girlfriend, I would give her a set of tobis, or maybe and Asianic. But knowing my parents, it would probably be Zard or any huge ass sword. Hmph." He spoke the last four words with a rather sarcastic voice.

"Hey Riex, you sound a bit annoyed there. Anything happen last night?" the boy beside him asked. He waited and watched as Riex looked at a couple making out at the side while he gave them the F3 face. _He looks a bit touchy on the subject. I should leave him alone. _He thought to himself. "Hey Leonard, Riex is going emo on us again. Lets split-…huh?"

Riex looked at his surroundings, realizing that their third companion was gone. "Hey Ar, where's L?"

Leonard was walking down the small market in Lith with a guide in his hand. "Hey guys. There's a ship to Maple Island available in an hour. Should we go for it?" He took his eyes off the guidebook and glanced to his side where his friends should have been. "Perfect! I did it again." He sighed deeply before he looked for them.

He took a left at the nearest sign, went straight across the white brick road and ran past a man with a bandana and his pets – a shark and an octopus. He finally sat down the bench after half an hour of running around Lith. "Damn that Riex. He asked me to lead and they don't even follow. Would've been better if Arwield had kept the map." He mumbled. Staring up to the sky, he remembered why he was going to Maple Island. _To learn important survival training_ he thought. Every high ranking official in Perion told him that the simple training they did was one of the most important if not the most important skills they have learned. Sure knowing how to use his weapons properly is a must but if they don't survive the wilderness, what good would mastery do? Leonard stood up and stretched before he continued "Well its no use complaining. I know that it was not my parent's decision that I'm here, its mine. I should have a better chance of finding them with my speed." With a final look up the sky and a smile, he darted off.

Leonard ran up the stairs and saw someone fixing part of a fence. He wanted to ask the local had seen Riex or Arwield, but then he remembered what Arwield said: Never talk to a foxy looking local especially if they have a sign that says "honest Natasha" imprinted on her shirt. He decided to keep going, heeding the advice. It was only fifteen minutes before the ship left and there was still no sign of either of them. It looks as if his first day in Lith was a total bust. The beginner stopped for a minute upon noticing a small crowd near by. Just at the end of a street stood not a crowd of people but by what looked like guards watching over a v.i.p. taxi, and it was no regular v.i.p. taxi, it was more like a v.v.i.p taxi. He decided to do a bit of snooping. Whoever this person was, he was sure that he or she was rich to afford this kind of treatment. Using the benches as cover, he was able to catch a glimpse of the long golden hair hanging over an expensive gown. He immediately knew it was a girl. Leonard's curiosity got the best of him and went for a closer look when the guards suddenly blocked his path. "Move out of the way kid! This isn't a place for lousy beginners like you!" The girl in the car turned her head upon hearing the commotion but the guards dragged him off before he could see her.

"Let go of me you overgrown Lupin!" Leonard blurted out as he was being dragged around.

"What did you say! You better watch your mouth or I'm gonna have to-"

"Now now, take it easy fellas." Leonard turned and saw Arwield and Riex holding three tickets to Maple Island. Arwield came closer and gave a small bow to the guard. "Do forgive my companion here. He tends to be irritable at times." This time it was Leonard who gave the F3 face as his friend gave him his ticket.

"Hey you two! The ship will leave in ten minutes. If we run all the way we can still make it." Riex stood on the other side of the street, waving his hand before he ran ahead. Leonard looked past the guards only to find that the taxi and the girl had driven away. There was no reason to stay and keep the "overgrown lupins" company so might as well head for the dock.

"Again sorry for the trouble." Arwield helped Leonard up and they both ran towards the dock.

The three 14 year-olds from Perion ran as fast as they could to make the ship. As they looked at the dock, they saw that it had begun its preparations. The last of the passengers were boarding and the anchor was hoisted to the deck. "Were not gonna make it" Riex said with a huffing voice. "L! You have to run faster and stop the ship for us."

"I cant run any faster. I spent all my energy just looking for you guys." Just as he finished, he noticed that a stray lupin was in his way. The lupin had jumped out of the stampede but left a banana peel on the ground. "Oh shiet!" Leonard yelled when he stepped on it. He was immediately thrown into an open barrel, which in turn rolled uncontrollably down the hill, through the dock, past the captain and up the ramp to the ship.

The ship parted from the ramp and took off. The captain took his place behind the wheel and set his course. "To Maple Island!" he said.

Leonard got out of the barrel, still dizzy. He soon realized that the ship was moving but his two friends were not with him. He gazed out the side of the ship and saw them both at the dock.

"L!!!!!" he heard Riex screaming at the top of his lungs. "Reserve a room for us at the camp! The next ship won't come for a few days so wait for us til theeeeen!"

"W-wait a second! I don't wanna be alone in some strange place! Let me off this ship!"

"Leonard! Don't worry! We'll get to you as soon as we can!" This time it was Arwield who called out, also waving his hand. Leonard stood on the deck, watching his friends and Lith harbor getting farther by the minute but in the least they will only be apart for a few days.

After being separated from the only two people he knew, He thought that this whole thing will never work out, but in the back of his mind, he had a feeling that it was about to get better. This was because he remembered the girl in the taxi right before his friends found him. He went up the deck and looked at the small patch of land beside the sunset. "Its been a rough start, but I know that things will go better."

He turned for the inside and got some rest for the journey ahead.


	3. The Famous Four Schools

**Chapter 2: The Famous Four Schools of Maple Island**

Leonard got up from his bed, still drowsed from his night sleep. The trip took longer than expected. He thought that the ship would reach its destination that same night. "There's no use complaining about it. Might as well see if were close."

He strapped on his leather holster, which contained nothing more than a small hunting knife, and his pack with only a change of clothes. Walking outside, the first thing that caught his attention was the bright sunlight. _It's the first sign that things will go better_, he thought. As his eyes got used to the sun, he noticed that they were flying too close to the water. Then the thought hit him, the ship was jetting over the surface.

"That's why it took so long. Air travel would have gotten us there in less than a few hours."

"Yes it would." The voice came from the deck above him. It was the Captain behind the wheel. "But the winds last night became too strong to properly steer the ship so I landed us over the water. Come up here boy and watch the view with me."

Leonard gave a pleasant nod then went up the stairs and stood next to the Captain. They greeted each other then the captain looked to the horizon. "The winds have calmed down but you know, sometimes its better to go slow and admire the nature around you. Look around you boy and see how beautiful the ocean is."

The young man looked at his surroundings and only one thought came in to his head, _beautiful_. It was truly a breathtaking sight. The golden sunlight gleamed on the ocean waves. The sea was calm and comforting while the ocean breeze was cool yet the warm. Leonard stood at the side of the ship and looked at the waves. The ship sailed over the water powered by engines that run on power crystals and was kept afloat by green crystals that produced a type of artificial wave made of light which the ship can use at any altitude. On route of the ship was an island, not as big as Victoria but it too hovered over the waters.

"Land Ho!" the captain called. Bells rang through the ship alerting the passengers that they were near. The deck was soon filled with liveliness as many beginners flocked to see the island where they would start their basic training. Everyone was excited to start so the captain raised the ship and propelled it even faster in the air. It broke through the thin fog around Maple Island and a dock can be clearly seen.

"Welcome to Maple Island! The land of new adventurers!" The captain smiled while the ship descended into the port. The passengers got out and headed to the hall in the docks of Southperry.

Leonard looked around the crowd and noticed that beginners with the same crest only spoke to one another. He, himself, wore the crest of the Sun, the crest of Perion. Those who wore the moon crest of Kerning strayed from those who wore the emblem of Henesys. This was the same with the green shields of Ellinia. Basically, everyone stayed away from anyone that's not from the same city as them. A man then walked towards the hall and stood atop the stage.

"Welcome beginners." The man said. "I am Solen, the headmaster of Soren Peaks, one of the four training schools in Maple Island. Lets hold the introductions until you have arrived at you're respective schools, so for now, I will explain how this will work. A majority of you will be here for six months. You will be separated into the four schools depending on which class you want to be in the future. The future warriors are with me. Soren Peaks is in the foot of the mountains just north of the town Amherst. For future mages, and bowmen, you have guides waiting for you outside. Mages will be enrolled in Lakeside Grove a bit north of Soren Peaks and bowmen will head for Woodland Plains in Amherst. As for thieves, Urban Hills is here in Southperry. Your guides should be here once all others have departed. That is all."

Solen signaled the future warriors with a hand sign to follow him. Leonard went with the crowd of future warriors to the north gate while beginners from Henesys and Ellinia took their own gates to see their guides. A bus was waiting for them outside. The Sun still shone brightly up the vast cloudless sky. Other than a small ship, there was nothing but an empty blue and the warm sunshine. As they got in, Leonard approached the headmaster.

"Excuse me sir. I have a question." He asked with a humble voice.

"Speak."

"Sir, my friends are still in Victoria and they won't depart for a few dayst. How will they know where to go?"

"Don't worry about such trivial matters. Maple Island is smaller than Victoria so getting lost would be nearly impossible; also, everyone here knows about the four schools, making it easy for them to reach their destination. Do not be so tense either. Be confident. A trait of a warrior is to be strong both in body and spirit but confidence is just as important because without it, the spirit will not grow and the body will remain weak. Showing confidence in whatever you do and to whom ever it is you speak to is the first step to becoming strong." The headmaster placed his hand over Leonard with a light pat. "Let's drop the formalities for now. Just call me Solen, as if I was another beginner."

Leonard found it hard to treat the headmaster as he would another beginner but he tried. "Thank you Sir, er, Mister Solen." Solen gave a small sigh, with an expression that says "this might take a while."

"Alright, everyone to your seats, there is something important that I want to discuss with you." The small chatter in the bus stopped with the touch of seriousness in the headmaster's voice. "I will give you a brief history in the establishment of the four schools. The intention for having four different schools are the lessons taught. These lessons might be the most basic in survival, battle, and using your environment but the abilities that will come after the change in jobs will be great. To further improve the end result, even the beginner training has been customized to suit each class, thus the four schools were founded. One last matter has to be made clear. It is best not to interact so much with the other schools because the difference in lessons might leave both parties confused. Your six month stay is of great importance so confusion will only add unnecessary tension and distractions. If what I said was clear to everyone then we will head for Soren Peak." Solen told the driver to start and soon enough, the warriors-in-training were taken to their school.


	4. M,M,T,H

**Chapter 3: Me, My Training, Exploring and…Her?**

"Let's see. What am I supposed to do now? Training won't start until this afternoon and I've finished my bookings." He sighed. "Things would be livelier if the guys were here. Too bad their ship was delayed by over a few days." He kept walking and so far he had not spotted even a single snail. _I really have to stop talking to myself before I scare away other people_, he thought. He strode down the path away from the Perion-like surroundings of Soren Peaks and headed for a lusher environment near the river. Many thoughts crossed his mind. He never thought that this day, the day that his adventures would start, had begun. Every time he went to a corner, he expected to bump into his friends or a familiar face but he would be surprised and quickly realize that he was far from home. It was something that he needed to be accustomed to and he knew that it cannot be helped. A large shadow fell over him and he saw a ship not far overhead just gliding towards the shore of the lake. As he gazed up to it, he saw who could have been the girl from the other day peering out the window. He didn't think that it was possible but his curiosity one again got the better of him and he followed it. Before he could go any further he suddenly stopped in front of a woman with brown hair, red overalls and a scimitar.

"Where do you think you're going? Judging from that pin of yours, you're from Soren Peaks. Did you get lost?" She was direct and had authority in her voice. "Your school is the other way around."

Leonard looked up to see that the ship was getting farther and farther and that he wont catch up to it so he turned his attention to the woman in front of him. "I'm not really lost, just wandering around to get a better view of the island. I just thought that it was so different and I kinda got lost in thought."

"Ahh, so you are from Victoria. In that case, I'll tell you a bit about this place." She sat down on the hillside and prompted the young beginner to do the same. "First off, tell me what you know."

"Ok. I know that this place has four schools to better suit the future jobs for beginners like me and that we shouldn't interact so much with the other schools because it would cause confusion on the important lessons. But I thought that since none of the lessons have started, I should just check out the other schools."

"Ahh so you know the basics. Yes, it's true that you should keep away from the lessons taught by the other schools but there is more to it than that. As for what the other reasons are… Its better for you to hear from your headmaster." Her voice seemed softer now than before and spoke with an elder-sister-like tone. "I'm Mai by the way. I'm going to be one of your instructors. Nice to meet you."

"Thank you. I'm Leonard. Its nice to meet you too Ms. Mai."

"Just Mai is fine. No need for formalities. You should head back. Solen is not fond of late comers during his lessons." She patted his head lightly and saw him off. _Good luck with your journey little one. I have a feeling that you will go far._ Mai thought as she waved goodbye to one of her new students.


	5. M,M,T,H II

**Chapter 4: Me, My Training, Exploring and…Her? Part II**

Leonard got up from his dorm room, still in a daze. He was never the early morning type but the loud early-morning trumpets gave him no choice but to get up himself. There was nothing particularly special this day and what happened the other day. The first thing that was taught was nothing but tours of the school and the surrounding areas, the rest was to be taught in today's lesson. Since it was a nice day outside, he thought to go for a walk to stretch his muscles before breakfast. The outside of the school was still quiet as everyone was still getting the tears out of their eyes. There was no one in sight in the yard until he saw a suspicious character walking with his back on the wall and into the girl's dorm. Leonard stood there wondering if he should tell a teacher but this could hurt his reputation and make it harder to make friends. After a brief pause, he took a chance and went over to meet this sly fellow. He sneaked towards the intruder like a mouse and noticed that he was also a beginner, but as he went closer he caught a peek of the beginners pin. It had the insignia of a moon – the Kerning crest. The boy from Urban Hills took out some rope attached to a hook and threw them up to the roof of the girl's dorm. He climbed up to a terrace and reached into his backpack for a pair of binoculars. For a few minutes he stood there looking into his binoculars while giggling. Leonard then climbed up the rope and into the terrace.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Shhh!!!" he hissed with an annoyed expression. "Cant you see that I'm checking out the competition."

"Don't you have girls in your school? You just had to go here just to look at our girls do you."

"It not that. Well, maybe it is but the girls in our school is a bit too tricky to play with. Besides, look at the bods of these warrior girls. We've hit the jackpot my friend." He handed the binoculars to Leonard and prompted him to look. Just as they were drooling at the wonderful sight, the morning sun made the dorm girls open their windows only to find two peeping toms on the terrace.

"KYAAAAAAAA! PERVERTS!!!" the voices echoed through the dorms and in a blink of an eye, a mob of angry girls came rushing to the terrace with their swords, clubs and axes.

Both Leonard and the beginner from Kerning were suddenly surrounded by angry girls with ravaging expressions and murderous intent glimmered in their eyes. "Umm… we were just sightseeing hehe. Right warrior buddy?"

"Y-Yeah r-right. We were just looking at the pretty bodies- BIRDIES! BIRDIES! Yeah pretty birdies." His voice trailed off as the angry mob came closer.

"Its been great. Gotta run. Bye." The thief quickly jumped down the rope and Leonard followed. They made a mad dash across the girls field in a pathetic attempt to reach the exit as more bloodthirsty girls came chasing while alerting the whole school. "CATCH THOSE PERVERTS!"

The mob closed in and the two ran even faster. They hid behind a wall hoping that the mob won't see them but the fear inside returned when an ax flew right by the corner. They continued their escape but they knew that they will get caught as the voices became louder.

"This is it. It was nice knowing you." Just as they had given up hope, Leonard pointed out that the exit was in sight.

"No! we can still make it. Just keep RUNNING!"

"AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" both boys yelled in unison. Suddenly, they felt their feet becoming lighter as if it had grown feathers. They had learned the beginner skill, nimble feet. With all of their remaining strength, they pulled away and disappeared in the mountain region around Soren Peaks.

huff huff "That's was NUUUUUTS! Hahahahaha." The thief said as Leonard lay down, breathing like there's no tomorrow.

"You are once screwed up thief. Thanks to you I could be the target of those girls. And I don't mean the good way."

"Hahahaha. You were peeking too you know."

"Maybe if you hadn't tempted me I wouldn't..." The thief looked at him with the F3 face. "Ok, ok I was also curious. But it's still your fault to begin with."

Both of them broke out in laugh. "I'm Sora by the way. I'm from Kerning and I'm studying in Urban Hills. You are?" The thief introduced himself as he offered a hand.

"Leonard from Perion. But you can just call me L." he took Sora's hand and got up.

"So L, sorry for the trouble, just that I get curious every once in a while you know."

"No worries, I was curious myself. But it looks like I won't be getting back in till class tonight. Guess I should try exploring this place again. Say Sora, don't you have classes you need to get too?"

"I'm okay. My classes are almost always at night. Since we don't have anything to do, wanna explore together?"

"Let's go." With that, the two beginners head of to an adventure.

After hours of wandering and practicing their new found skill, they found themselves in Lakeside Grove territory. As they pressed on, they eventually made it in front of a tall wooden gate covered in vines. They were in front of Lakeside Grove before they even realized it.

"Is this Lakeside Grove? It's so different from my school. We don't have a wall like this."

"Yeah it is. This is their defense line. Since the schools train future defenders, its important to keep them safe. In here it's a wall; Soren has its harsh mountain terrain; traps are around Woodland Plains; and Urban Hills is very busy in the day so the only option is to attack at night, when the thief teachers have the advantage."

"Wow. Never heard that story before. You really know your stuff." He turned his head at the wall and the gigantic gate some distance away. It was locked shut except for a small opening that only let people pass by one at a time. "This place is amazing. But what could they be guarding against with this type of defense. Its almost impenetrable."

"Dunno. I told you all I know. But since were here anyway why don't we see how hard it is to sneak in?"

Leonard gave a nod and they crept up the vines on the wall.

"Magic Bolt!" they heard as they peered over the wall. Some beginners were already practicing the basics of magic along with their survival skills. _They're really going at it,_ Sora thought. _But its not like anything's coming out. They're just working on their form._ "Kinda funny eh L?"

"Yeah" he replied, more interested in the structure itself than the students. "Sora. Come with me for a sec. I wanna see more of this place."

"Sure. But is not like there's anything to see here. This is pretty much it for the structure; and the girls are wearing either too many layers or overalls so you don't even notice the curves." He turned for a response only to find that he was already left behind.

Leonard walked along the railings of the wall and headed straight for the biggest building in the school. _What am I doing?_ He thought to himself, but only one answer cam to mind. _Its gotta be that girl. Once I see her face, I might be able to get it out of my system. Dammit. I hate it when my curiosity gets a hold of me._ The two boys explored the school as best they could.

"It's a pretty easy walk. Mages are the only class who can't really sense their opponents unless he was another magic user… Don't you think you've seen enough L?"

"Oh… Sorry Sora. Just that I want to see someone in here so I can get it out of my system. It really bugs me when I don't get answers."

"Ahh. I know what you mean. But I'm gonna have to leave you soon. It's a long way back to South Perry and my classes start before dusk."

"Don't worry about me. I can get back by myself. You go on ahead and I'll meet you outside Soren say, same time tomorrow?"

"Maybe not tomorrow. I hitched at the mailman's cart on the way here and he only delivers every few days. Check for me same place when the mail man comes to your school." He looked up to the sky and saw the sun starting to set. It was getting late. "I better get going now. Take it easy. And tell me the juicy stuff when we meet." They bid their farewells and Sora rushed to get back to his school.

Leonard continued his quest. The biggest building appeared close, but he became worried that maybe he was pushing his luck. Warriors weren't really taught to be sneaky like thieves, it was actually the opposite. He continued kept on going, until he heard voices. They were two girls having a conversation but it seemed one was older than the other. Leonard slowly moved to get a clear view of the girls in the open field. No one else was there and the winds blew their voices enough for him to hear. From the golden hair of one of the girls, he immediately recognized her as the one from his earlier encounters. He wanted to move closer for a better look but he felt that the other girl, whom he thought was a teacher, would notice him. Goosebumps crawled over him as he pondered on whether he should go and risk getting caught and possibly be kicked out of school for trespassing or should he not go closer and have it bother him all night. His indecisiveness took no time to come back to him since the bell rang for them the future mages to go to afternoon class. Leonard felt defeated since he could not even decide but was left with no other option but to leave for now. _Man this sucks_ he thought. He ran as fast as he could and used his nimble feet skill to quickly get himself back up and out.

"Maybe I should have gone to see her…. Maybe... What's done is done. I'll just have Sora and the guys help me next time." The late sun was just over the mountains, signaling students of Soren Peak that their evening session was about to begin. _I feel like things will be more exciting than this…. _A smirk formed on his face before his journey back, taking the golden road that the setting sun laid out in front of him. _I just hope the girls don't kill me first._


	6. Leonard, Riex,

**Chapter 5: Leonard, Riex, Arwield and Sora**

Leonard got up from his bed with a yawn of satisfaction from a good night's sleep. Its been a few days since he's seen Sora, but he knew that he was gonna show up today. After asking around the school, he found out about the mailman's scheduled visits, which means he also knows when Sora's gonna drop by. Seeing as he's still alive, it meant that the girls didn't recognize him from the peaking incident. _Thank goodness _he thought. The beginner put on his sword strap with sword inside, right after wearing some casual pants and a white shirt that he never bothered to wash. He didn't have any room mates at the moment and everyone sweats during training anyway so its barely noticeable. One of his shoes was missing, and looking under the bed he found it and something else. He reached under the bed and felt something like a parchment. Upon close inspection he came to a quick conclusion.

"It's a scroll. Lucky day. But what's with this gray colour?" The trumpets echoed through the dorms before he could find out anything else. _This can wait; today's breakfast special cant._ He put the scroll in his bag and walked out the door, greeting the world with a smile. Strange enough, the hallways in the usually always-busy dorm is empty. There was only one explanation. He dashed out as fast as he can, casting his nimble feet. He jumped down the stairs and heard the rest of the students yelling in panic on the other side of the door at the end of the hallway. As he rushed to the door, he braced himself for what he fears the most that morning: the longest cafeteria line in all of Maple Island. It looks as if the entire population was shoving to get in line for the breakfast special. _Guess it must be REALLY good. _A wave of red stood out from the crowd and seemed to be trying to escape the riot.

"O YES! Today's special is mine!" a familiar voice exclaimed. It was Riex with his red hair and attitude. "Now where are those two?"

"Riex? Hey Riex!" Leonard called out from the door. Riex looked over to his direction and ran excitedly with his usual goofy greetings.

"L great to see ya. Now all we need is Ar." He said, popping a piece of the morning dessert into his mouth. "anf wfe can mmph this farphy mppmhrted."

"Uhh. What was that?"

"He said 'so we can get this party started'." Arweild came by, patting Riex's back. "That thing might be good but don't choke on it now. Hey L. How've you been?"

"Arweild you made it too. Its great to see you guys. And I'm fine. I actually met someone here." He said with a big smile.

The curious Riex stopped his munching only to ask "Is it a girl?"

Arweild made a long sigh. "Are girls really the only thing in your head?"

"Hahaha. No Riex he's not a girl but he is a thief. Actually I was on my way to meet him. Come with me. I'll introduce you guys. I know that you two will get along well Riex." The three boys went out of the cafeteria and out the gates where Sora waited.

"Sora" Leonard called to the thief, who had a bag full of who knows what.

"Hey L. Morning. And who are they?"

"Meet my two friends from Perion." He pointed at Arweild first "This is Arweild. And the other one is Riex."

"Glad to meet you. I heard about you two from L here. He said you were dependable and just nice to be around with. I'm Sora, a thief-to-be from Kerning."

"Likewise" Aweild said and Riex gave a pleasant nod. Leonard went over behind Sora and took a peek into his backpack.

"So whats in the bag?"

"The bag? Ohh this. I packed for our little quest today."

Riex had a confused look on his face as he faced the others. "We just got here this morning. I think were exempted from it."

"I didn't mean a school related quest. I'm talking hunting… girl hunting." He had a big smirk on this face almost reaching end to end. It took a while for Riex to get it, but his smirk too reached end to end.

"I like your style thief buddy. When do we start?" The two talked of their grand plan, and Leonard and Arweild were left to chat between themselves.

"This is going to be a troublesome six months wont it?" a remark from Arweild to Leonard.

"Better get used to it. These two are gonna drag us to a hells worth of trouble."

The remaining days in the schools were pretty fun for the four beginners. The three in Soren Peaks would plan out things to do for the next day, while Sora always hitched a ride from the mail man, bringing some juicy stories for the others to hear. They pretty much did everything there is to do in Maple Island. Exploring came naturally with training, and mischief and pranks gave some good laughs. They discovered many things like the best fishing spots in the lake or how the traps worked in Woodland Plains. They even knew the colour of Mai's underwear everyday of the week, and how heartless she can be with her detentions – which usually involve you and ten mushrooms dancing in an empty cabin; ahh the pain. Days flew by instantly until about a week before graduation.

Leonard headed out the door with the other two, off to meet Sora for some flower picking. Apparently the headmaster of Soren Peaks, Solen, has a taste for colorful flowers. Hard to believe, but at least it wont be hard to find the thank you-present to the headmaster of the warrior school.

"So this is it." Riex said, breaking the silence. "There's only a week left before we graduate. I'm already starting to miss this place."

"Hahaha. You were always the emotional type." Leonard responded

"Yeah but I can quite agree with him. After all, we won't be able to get back here so easily after graduation." Arweild stopped and glanced at the huge school behind him. "I'm also going to miss this place. It's so peaceful. Maybe we should all get a job here afterwards, with Sora too, of course."

Leonard took a good look at his campus and realized how little they spent in exploring their own school. They always went out and had adventures outside, but the schools grounds seemed to be more of a stranger than a home. "Maybe, you know just before graduation, we can invite Sora and look around this school. We never did explore this place as much as the others." He said.

This caught Arweilds attention. "Come to think of it, your right. We still have one more meeting after this, but right now let's get Solen's present."

Riex's snicker could be heard clearly. "Flowers for the beautiful young man." He said. And the three laughed.


	7. New Journey

**Chapter 6: The End of One Adventure, the Start of Another**

The ship back to Victoria Island was calm and quiet. It was no surprise. Everyone was busy feeling the wonderful view on the deck, feeling the breeze, as they reflected on their past six-month trip. Even Riex was quiet as the three friends gazed at the island, where they had their first adventures, that was slowly disappearing on the ocean horizon. Leonard left the company of his two friends for a bit. There was no need to be hang out all the time. They all needed some alone time to look back at what they have finished and the new bonds they made. He walked along the side of the ship, though a bit disappointed that he never bought a souvenir. The scroll he found a long time ago was supposed to be his to keep, but it served its purpose when it saved the lives of his friends and him. Mai got savage when the four saw her half naked after one of their training sessions. They would have been badly cut if Sora had not used the scroll on Mai's scimitar and broke it. The scroll had a 70 chance of succeeding but a 30 of failing and breaking the weapon at the same time, but among the few things you have to give Sora credit for was his resourcefulness and luck. He climbed up the stairs on the deck to meet the captain, whom he remembers and whom remembers him. The captain seemed to understand what everyone was going through and decided to keep the bells silent and gave only a nod to Leonard as the beginner set his sight on the engines at the side of the ship. He came to Maple Island alone, but left with his friends, and one more. He was in his own world, playing back the events of the goodbye to his thief friend.

**The hall was packed with graduates saying their goodbyes. Leonard, Riex and Arweild's ship wont leave until noon, but Sora's was about to depart. The three was up on the balcony in the hall, looking at those who boarded the ship. There they saw Sora waving his hand and the three waved in return. They could still remember Sora's words from a few minutes ago: "Stop by Kerning sometime and I'll show you around"**

**Nothing much happened after Sora left. The group walked around and enjoying the nostalgic feeling of setting foot on familiar ground. They tried out a few food places that they never been to as well as the markets in Southperry. And before they knew it, their ship was ready to depart. **

The sun was setting by the time they reached Lith Harbor, so they took a taxi to Perion, where they parted ways upon arriving. Riex went west to his family's mansion, Arweild east for the fighter dojo and Leonard waited on a bench. Looking up the sky, he gave an annoyed expression. _Why won't the moon come out already? I miss them both. After being away for half a year, the least I want is for mom and dad to see me back. _

The market was still crowded with people of all kinds, but most of them were warriors. There were other classes, but they seemed out of place in his dessert homeland. Out of the bustling crowd came a man with a tall and strong stature. Leonard's eyes gleamed as the man approached. The man gave off a strong yet warm and kind aura. His Devil Sunrise was a perfect fit for his height and his face showed a welcoming smile. "It's been a long six months. Welcome home, son."

"Dad, you're here!" he said excitedly. His father gave him a pat on the head, much like any father would do.

"I can tell that you've gotten stronger. Did you learn anything during your time away?"

"I learned plenty. But I did miss watching you fight the monsters around town. Every time we would go field training, I tried copying your moves but it's really hard to get it right."

"Hahaha. Don't be discouraged by it. It took me a long time to master my weapon skills, but those aren't as important if you don't know how to survive in the wilderness. What you learned in Maple Island will be the first step you take in becoming a proud warrior."

"It's not that important. I still think that being strong is way better. I want to be as strong as you dad."

"Someday son. Someday." His father said, still patting his head.

"Excuse me Sir, are you Sir Jerin, the renowned Dessert Tiger?" A voice came from outside the conversation, disrupting the moment. It was an old man, the owner of a small noodle shop just outside the market.

"Please sir, no need for formalities. Just Jerin is fine. Leonard, can you give us a minute?" He said

"No no, no need for that. I just stopped by to say thank you for helping my granddaughter this morning. She told me that you had rescued her from rouge fire boars. For that, I am in your debt." He gave a polite bow.

"Ahh, so you are the grandfather of that little one. No need to thank me sir, I only did what everyone else would do."

"Oh, but there is a need to thank you. My granddaughter is very important to me. So, if you ever have a craving for noodles, come to my shop and I'll whip you up some of my best noodles. My shop, though small as it is, serves some of the finest noodles in Perion." The old man said another round of appreciation and bid them farewell.

Jerin returned his attention to his son, who was waiting patiently for him to finish. "Sorry about that Leonard. This is supposed to be our quality time."

"No, its ok. I know how it is with your reputation. I'm used to it by now." Leonard said, shaking his head, a smirk never leaving his face.

The father and son walked across the still busy market of Perion, shopping for a new set of Lolica armor. It was a long search, but none seemed to match, so they decided to postpone it until another time. They walked out of the market and proceeded west for more quality time. It was not long after that they met another warrior who just entered Perion through the west entrance. This man also held a Devil's Sunrise, but he also had his Commodore armor. Leonard took a closer look at the insignia on the right arm. There it shown; a crest of wild flame beautifully lined with gold around the edge and streaks of red emanating from the centre of the flame and stretches farther along the arms of his armor.

_That crest._ Leonard thought. _That's Riex's family crest. Is it Riex's father?_

Jerin broke the moment when he saw the red-headed man walk towards them. "It's a rare sight to see you in full armor old friend."

"Jerin. Good evening to you too. I see that your son has returned. That means Riex is also back at home correct?" He asked Leonard.

"Yes he is. He said that he'll head straight home." Leonard responded politely before the man who is at he same status as his father.

"I see. Thank you. I'm sorry I can't stay and talk, but I have to get home and start on my son's lesson plans." His voice had a tone of seriousness ever since he spoke and it seemed to have gotten more serious after hearing Riex's return. Leonard pondered on why this man and his father were completely different when his friend and he had so much in common.

"Are you sure you want to start his training right now. Don't you think you should let him mature a bit? Take is slower?" It was the first concerned remark that Jerin said all night. He knew that Riex had potential, but this training might be pushing him over the edge.

"Jerin old friend. We went and fought in the war together. You should know that I do not take careless actions. I will not train my son if I think he cannot handle it. Besides, the path of a Knight is long and hard. It is best for him to start now, save any regrets later."

"I understand. But a boy of fourteen to start difficult elemental studies as well as warrior training… I guess its not my privilege to say what you should and what you should not do. I am a Crusader after all." Jerin's voice had some concerns, but it still reflected some reassurance of his old friend's methods.

"Well then, I thank you for understanding my situation. Now if you would excuse me, I have to confront my son about his weapon choices. You should talk to your son about it soon. A warrior first leap starts with a weapon after all. Goodnight." With that, Riex's father simply walked past them and took the path for the mansion on the west side of Perion.

"Hey dad…" Leonard spoke with a soft, slightly confused voice.

"I already know what you're going to ask. I know that it is strict, but don't hate him for his decision. He bears the crest of his proud family line. It's only natural that he wants Riex to continue his legacy." Jerin placed his hand over his son's shoulder. "Don't let it bother you so much. You know very well what your friend can do. He'll be alright."

"I know… But you said that it was too strict."

"There aren't many Knights among the warrior population. There are more Crusaders like me out there. Riex does carry a big burden; being born in a family of renowned Knights places tremendous pressure and expectations. But remember, he is not the only one struggling. Many of the young warriors are also in this position. Take Arwield for instance. His parents died in the war and he lives with his grandfather, the headmaster of the Fighter's dojo. He is also given the great expectation to rise up and become a powerful Crusader for the front line of every battle… And… you too." Jerrin walked over to the bench and they both sat.

Leonard looked at his father, baffled at what he just said. "Me? I don't feel pressured at all. You were fine even if I chose not to be a warrior."

"True. But that doesn't mean that others don't have high expectations for you. You are the son of the Dessert Tiger after all. Don't get me wrong. The title I have doesn't mean much to me. I never came from a family with high expectations either, however, thanks to that title, other warriors want you to follow in my footsteps. I apologize for bringing this to you… and to your mother as well."

There was a brief silence between them. Leonard understood his father's situation. His father worked hard to support him as well as help the city of Perion. He contributed much during the war and the transition between the war and peace times. His title was preserved and he became a living legend because of his vigor in battle. Even now he still does all he can, working with high ranking officials, to keep the peace.

"Don't worry too much about me dad. I'm mature enough to understand your situation. And though still can't be seen outside with mom, I'm fine because I see her every night. Don't forget… you also have a big responsibility as the Dessert Tiger. Mom understands that too."

"Yeah… You know… It was a hard decision that your mother had to go through… I would have given up all my authority, that was no problem with me, but you mother wanted the best for you. She is a Chief Bandit who is married to a renowned warrior. If the news spread, it would be catastrophic. Not everyone would accept her. But I don't blame them either. The war has left scars… I can still remember the night you were born. It was when we had settled in Perion. It was also the night when she decided to hide her marriage with me. It was so that you could grow with the people knowing that you are the son of a great Crusader, a proud warrior. Even now, I feel incredible guilt when I lie about being married to a Perion-born lady who died after your birth. I'm sure that she is also lonely, being unable to introduce herself as your mother. Whenever I see her with tears, I always told myself, if only I had met her earlier, then maybe none of this would have happened. However, she always reassures me that she is fine, and I would believe her beautiful and honest smile. Leonard, you are very lucky to have a loving mother. You should be very proud of her." Jerin was looking at the night sky while he talked, then he looked at his son's face, seeing a very proud look in his eyes and tears of happiness ready to flow.

The young man closed his eyes, with his mouth still showing a smile. "I am very proud dad, of both mom and you. You two are my pride and I promise to work hard so that I don't let you down."

"Hehehe. No matter how hard I try I can never imagine you letting us down." Jerin got up and stretched his arms. "We should head back. Cynthia should be home by now. I'm sure you want to see her too."

"Alright… The usual?" Leonard readied himself in racing position and beckoned his father to do the same. "Last one washes the dishes."

"Hehehe. You're on." And they raced at the count of three.

They passed the Perion market in a flash and went north, with Leonard taking the lead. Up the cold stone stairs was where Jerin caught up, but the 14 year-old pulled away at the peak. Both father and son enjoyed their little race, like they always did. Winds rushing on their faces and the rush of keeping the lead reminded them of all the times they raced the very same route, betting the messy chores on the line. As he neared the small two-story house at the end of the dirt road, Leonard realized what others may have not noticed_; he was truly back to his hometown, back to where it all began, back in the dessert city, back in Perion…_

Tears started forming in the young man's eyes as a woman stepped outside the small house and into the cold night. She knelt down and opened her arms wide to her son.

"Mom!" Leonard called out as he jumped into his mother's arms and into a loving embrace.

… _he was back home_.

"I'm home." He whispered, and she held him tighter.

"Welcome home my baby." At first sight, this woman could not be recognized as a Chief Bandit. That was because during her embrace, she was neither a Thief nor a soldier; she was a mother, to the two boys in her life.

Dinner finished and Jerin walked down the stairs after setting Leonard to bed. They had been talking for hours and it was past midnight. Cynthia was cleaning the table when Jerin walked over to her. He held her tightly as if she had been gone for months and she held him back.

"My little boy is growing up" she mumbled. "And he's chosen to be a strong warrior like his father. I'll leave his training to you're care. He does get his strength from you."

"Uh-huh… But he also gets his speed from you. I can never catch up to him in a race. That means were both going to teach him about battle." He looked at her and smiled. "I'm going to Dances with Balrog with him tomorrow to get his weapon. Are you heading off to Kerning?"

"I have to, but don't worry. The Dark Lord's been very understanding of our situation and he's only given me missions close by. I can come back tomorrow night. I should also get some lighter armor for him there. At least those look better on him than those Lolica set you used to wear. I still remember when we first met. You wore that Brown Lolica and it was a major turn off."

"Hahaha. How true… You look tired. Get some rest. I'll clean the dishes."

"You lost to him in a race again didn't you?"

"Hehe. He is my son after all. Goodnight." Cynthia went up the stairs to Leonard's room before retiring for the night. As she closed her eyes, she envisioned her son as a strong man like his father.

"Grow up to be the best you can be, dear."

Sunshine penetrated from the cracks between the mountains in Perion. It was morning. Many are already awake and have set to train before the searing heat during mid day catches up on them. Leonard and Jerin left their house about the same time as everyone else but their goal was not to train, it was to head for Dances with Balrog to choose a weapon for Leonard. A warrior may choose any weapon that he or she likes but they don't usually decide on one particular type of weapon until the second job rank. That's when they explore deeper into the weapon's capabilities. However, often the warriors who are best at controlling their weapons are the ones that stick to that particular type right after they become promoted as a warrior. Jerin, Riex's father, Arweild's grandfather, and the stronger officials of Perion know this by instinct and understand it by experience. Thus is the Perion saying: The holder chooses his weapon, the weapon chooses its holder. The reason why most warriors are not told to stick to one type weapon is because they are still do not have what it takes to judge whether the weapon is rightfully theirs or not.

They had reached Dances with Balrog's gate. It was a tall and made of the strongest metals it made Dances with Balrog's home seemed like a natural fortress. It was only open for the public during the afternoon, but those within the higher ranks have been granted a key to open these gates, and Jerin is one of them.

"Leonard, you haven't seen me open these gates have you?" Leonard shook his head. "Alright. Watch carefully. You see these small slits on the gate? These oversized slits are actually keyholes that only specific keys can open. Now-"

Jerin pulled his Devil Sunrise from the holster on his back and showed it to Leonard. "-notice my sword. Tell me what you see."

"I don't see anything different about it, besides the crest on the blade near the handle."

"Yes, at first glance it looks normal, but look closer at the transition between the sharp edge and the centre of the sword."

He took a closer look and noticed that the transition wasn't in a straight line. A barely noticeable difference between Jerin's Devil Sunrise from normal a Devil Sunrise was the key-like formation of the transition between the sharp blade and the centre of the sword. The more noticeable difference is the crest that came with Jerin's title. It is the head of a sand-yellow and black-striped tiger with its right paw lunged forward. It revealed its ferocious fangs and sharp claws, displaying a façade of great strength.

"This is… a key?" Leonard questioned.

"Right. Now watch how I open this door. I thought it was so cool the first time I did it." Jerin withdrew his sword to the side with the blade horizontal in stabbing position. With the blink of an eye he lunge it towards the slit on the gate. _clank clank clank _Gears could be heard from the other side slowly turning and locking onto the sword. A long vertical slit behind the outer locks extended from the top of iron door down towards the radius from the sword's centre.

"Now for the fun part." Jerin rotated his Devil Sunrise until the slit was parallel the longer slit then suddenly forced his sword upward, knocking open the outer locks. There was a loud bang from the force used to open the door, and then silence. Jerin re-sheathed his blade and the iron door crept open to reveal a dark room lit by torches, and sitting in the centre was a big man wearing a large head ornament. It was Dances with Balrog, awaiting their arrival.

"Jerin, Leonard, I have been expecting you. Come in and sit with me for a while." The two sat and began a conversation.

"How did you know we were coming Sir?"

"Your friends have been here earlier this morning and chosen their weapons. Only you have not done so." He faced Jerin. "Has your son developed a sense for a weapon he can call his own?"

"That is the reason we're here. But please explain to him how it works."

The Perion chief nodded. "Listen my boy. Perion youngsters are born with unrivalled potential for great strength and stamina. We may not be the fastest of all the job classes but we can accomplish what to others may seem impossible to some degree. Our advantages make us excellent in close combatants more than anything else. But before we go into battle, we would require a weapon. These weapons may just be plain sticks or sharp edges to others but to us, they are far greater than they appear. In the hands of a skilled warrior with his chosen weapon, a simple hunting knife may seem like a wall of swords for his opponent. However, this is not always the case. Usually, young warriors have not developed a sense of which weapon perfects them. It is not simply a matter of choosing among the group, it is more like a feeling, a sudden surge that the holder feels. It is hard to describe with words but once you have developed that feeling, you will be able to tell whether a weapon is something you can call your own or not. This is why only those who are taking the second job advancement are required to choose their own weapon specialty. Think of it as time for the warriors to mature and develop their unique judgment. Now, have you any idea of what kind of weapon perfects you?" Dances with Balrog's speech left an impression on the young man as he had not thought of any of these.

"No Sir. But I do want to become strong like my father, so if it is possible, I'd like to have a sword like his." Leonard looked at his father and the chief and saw disagreeing faces.

"It's not that easy son. If you do not pick the weapon that was meant for you, it would be much harder to stay at the same level as others in your group."

"But dad! I want to be strong like you."

Jerin sighed. "Being strong does not mean that you have to be a sword Crusader like me, you can choose any weapon and still be strong."

"Jerin, why don't you share your experience when you first chose your sword?" Dances with Balrog said as he stood and prepared all the available weapons that Leonard may choose from.

"Alright. Son, when I was choosing my weapon, I never thought that it was going to be a sword. I was the first in my family to be a warrior so I was very clueless the first time I had to choose. I thought that since I don't have to stick to any one particular type, I could try out everything and decide on my second job. By the time I reached out for the sword, which was my last choice, I felt something. It's hard to explain but it was like a rush. The moment I held that blade was the time I knew that it was perfect for me. That's about all I can say. I just had what it took to recognize my equipment earlier than others, that's all."

"Then… do you think I have the right judgment?" Leonard asked, still confused but there was an expression on his face that seem to reveal that he knew that feeling his father and the Chief was talking about.

"There is one way to find out." Dances with Balrog laid down the weapons in front of him. They were nothing special. From the left it was a spear, a sword, then an ax, followed by a blunt weapon. "Let us begin."

Dances with Balrog handed him the first weapon, a spear, but to the adult's surprise, Leonard ignored the spear without even looking at it and reached straight from the sword. Both of them thought that it was his goal to become a sword Crusader like his father and decided to let it pass. The new warrior held the sword first with one hand, then both but nothing came to him. Neither a surge nor any feeling that pointed to his attachment to the sword.

"Try using it." His father suggested. Leonard swung the blade with one hand, then the other, then with both. He swung vertically, then upwards, then a small hoping slash, but still nothing. Both adults saw nothing but a saddened aura within the child and the sword. It was most likely not his weapon or maybe he has not matured enough to wield it properly. He returned the sword reluctantly to the Chief and once again ignored the spear that was held in front of him. The end result repeated itself and the two have noticed that he was avoiding the spear, but they did not have any proof until the last weapon in line left him empty.

"Now," The Chief said. "this spear is the last. If you still do not feel anything, then I will conclude that you are still not mature enough." Leonard gazed at the spear in front of him and fear started to arise within him.

"M-May I try with the sword once more?" He stammered. Dances with Balrog merely shook his head.

The young man reached slowly for the spear. His hand trembled and this left the other two baffled. No sound could be heard in the room other than Leonard's own rapid breathing. He was distressed, very distressed with just grabbing the spear. Jerin focused his attention to his son, who looked like he was reaching out to a monster that would devour his very being. He wondered what could have made his son so mortified. It was just a regular store-bought spear, one that many have held, yet his hand trembled and sweat drifted down his cheek. Leonard recalled a similar incident that happened some years back and it renewed his fear that the same terrible experience would once again resurface one he touches it. He closed his eyes and used all of his courage to snag the spear of the Chief's hands. He immediately felt a tremendous shock traveling from the spear to his entire body. It was like a bolt of lightning paralyzing his senses. His entire body felt numb and his limbs were giving in. It struck him like his heart had been pierced. Leonard eyes shot open and he witnessed a silhouette of a gigantic, demonic dragon with one of its black claws pierced straight through his chest, reaching past his back. _GRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH. _It's ear shattering roar echoed within his ears but he was too panicked to think and his body was paralyzed. He was completely helpless as the dragon pulled its claw, ripping the boy's heart out. Leonard dropped the spear, coughing out blood on the sand covered floor. It all happened in a second.

"LEONARD! Leonard!" Jerin yelled loudly as he rested his son onto his arms. The boy's eyes were slowly closing and his consciousness faded.

That night, Dances with Balrog appeared in front of Jerin's door. It was Cynthia who answered it. Unlike most of the people in Perion, Dances with Balrog was one of the few who knew of the couple's marriage and supported it, but the marriage was hardly the issue to be discussed that night. "Good evening Cynthia, I see that you are doing well… I have to speak to Jerin. Is he inside?"

"Good evening Sir. Please wait one minute." There was worry about her son's health within her but she knew that it must be talked over by the men.

Jerin and the Chief walked outside and sat under the night sky. "… That… was the first time I've seen something like this happen during a weapon selection." Jerin remarked first.

"Indeed… It was such a violent reaction that I do not know what to make of it." The Chief responded.

"Maybe it was just his way of reacting to his weapon. Everyone's is different. I remember this one time when someone trembled after holding his weapon and…"

"Jerin…" Dances with Balrog abruptly cut his speech. "He dropped the spear and coughed up blood. Not a second after touching the spear, he dropped it and collapsed of exhaustion. Such a strong reaction must mean that spear type weapons are not only perfect for him, but he was destined to wield them." Jerin remained silent, staring at the cold ground.

"The weapon chooses it's holder." Dances with Balrog continued before he handed the spear over to him. Jerin took it, it's hilt still stained with blood. "If he wishes to be a great warrior, then he must not fear holding his chosen, no, his destined weapon…"

Jerins eyes lit up, realizing that he was worried for nothing. He had faith in his son's abilities since he is the only child of a strong Crusader and Chief Bandit. _He has great potential… this I just realized, but he, like all others he, needs guidance. _

"Jerin… you should have realized that he has great potential. With the right guidance, he can grow up to be stronger than you… and stronger than me, so do not let this incident get to you."

"Yeah. That I knew even before the test. I'll talk to him and try to encourage him."

"Then I must take my leave. Goodnight to you and your wife." Dances with Balrog made his way back and Jerin went into his house to explain everything to his wife. After the talk, Cynthia walked up to Leonard's room and saw him awake.

"How are you feeling?" She asked and the boy replied with a mumble. "That's good… you know, the Chief just talked with you're father. He said that you have great potential in you, and I believe them."

"I don't know if I'll ever hold spears again. It was terrifying." He whispered, feeling somewhat ashamed for what he considers as his failure.

Cynthia placed her hand on his forehead then placed her arms around him for an embrace. Softly, she hummed a lullaby, the one that she always sung when he was a child. He listened intently to her mother and absorbed the time with her. "Do you remember why you wanted to become strong like your father?" She asked. "You made that decision all by yourself. During that time we saw in your eyes the determination that only appears when fighting for a cause. As your parents, we will always support you. That is why your father and I asked for more time we can spend with our family."

Leonard was adrift in his mother's words. He recalled the whole reason he wanted to be a warrior in the first place. It was so that he could protect his parents and friends, and to help in building a world free of any discrimination between classes. It was so that he could walk along the cities during the day with both his parents beside him, happy as any other family.

"The world can be a harsh place" she continued. "Your father and I had to overcome great challenges and multiple struggles in the past up until now, and we did. It was all because we love each other, our home, and we love you."

Tears formed in his eyes as those soft words played back in his mind. All of his fears, worries and doubt were replaced with renewed hope and a strong drive to finish what he started. It was all thanks to his parents, his source of pride and courage. He wiped the tears from his eyes and faced his mother with a smile. "Thanks mom." He whispered softly. "I have to talk to dad."

"He's downstairs, waiting." He nodded and went down to meet his father.

Jerin was outside getting some fresh air when his son approached him. "It's about time." He said. "Mind telling me what happened?"

"Sorry about that. It's just that I saw a terrifying vision when I touched the spear. It was just like that time years ago. I'd awoken one night and went downstairs. There I saw a spear with a red multiple-curved blade along with your equipment. I felt like it was calling out to me, so I reached out and touched it. That was when I first saw that vision. I panicked and ran upstairs. The next day I saw that the spear was gone and I thought that all of it was nothing but a dream."

"What kind of vision was it?" Leonard searched his mind but the shock he recalled made it difficult to find the correct words to describe it. Jerin noticed this and decided that he'd be better of not to describe it. "Never mind, it is best that you don't ponder over it too much… Leonard, are you sure that you still want to walk on this path?"

"Yes… I am." Jerin smiled.

"Then you will need this." He took out the spear from before and laid it in front of his feet. "You are destined to hold it. Take your time." Jerin then went back with Cynthia.

_Why was I so afraid? _It was one of the many questions that plagued his mind. _My parents faced their fears and struggles so that they can become strong enough to protect what is important to them. But I… I was cowering away from the goal that I wanted to achieve. I want to be strong not for my sake but for my parent's. I'll show them and everyone else that I too can surpass all challenges that are thrown at me. Everything will start… _

Leonard reached out for the spear, but he was gleaming with the courage and determination that his parents had granted him. He closed his eyes and picked held it high. _... with this spear! _His eyes opened and he once more saw the dragon, hearing it's menacing roar, but he never faltered, he stood against it like wall and began to speak to it with loud commands.

_Leave you monster! I am not afraid of you or any challenge that you lay on me! Leave now or I will make you perish! _The dragon's words only seem to grow louder, but as he said the last few words, the silhouette slowly vanished and he returned to reality, holding the spear tightly. His heart was still beating wildly but he felt a triumphant, and the spear no longer embedded him with fear or worry, instead it became a source for his power and security. _I had won… but my new journey has just begun._

Within the deepest part of the sanctuary in the ant tunnel, shadows leap and stride across the frozen floor and crumbling supports. No sound is heard, nothing but droplets of water. Nothing can be seen within the pitch black darkness but these shadowed figures gathered by the hundreds before a tall impenetrable gate. Inside there were only a few shadowy figures forming a large circle. Still no sound is made until…

"The key" a figure stated.

"The key" the other responded.

"… is accepted" murmured the last.

A voice echoes from within the gate. "Let it all begin."


	8. Jerin's Journal

**Chapter 7: Jerin's Journal**

_January 8,_

_Today is the first day of Leonard's warrior training after being promoted. Cynthia and I decided to have him train with the spear first before all other things, therefore, I am his teacher for about a month. After he can use it sufficiently, Cynthia will be alternating with me to develop his speed along with his strength. I will track his progress along with my journal for future reference and analyzing his weaknesses. Right now it is daybreak, and Cynthia departed a few minutes ago. Leonard should be coming outside shortly… that is, if he isn't too exhausted from last night._

_10:00 am: I have been outside form hours now and he still isn't up… never mind… I just heard him fall down the stairs. _

_1:00 pm: Leonard first held his spear, and he seemed pretty confident with it. I have been working with him since he got up, but he is still clumsy at handling it. This is to be expected, and it won't change for at least three days. _

_6:00 pm: I have trained with him relentlessly but I still can't believe how fast he got to know his weapon. When I was his age, it took me a few days for my body to coordinate with my weapon and avoid hurting myself. But Leonard… just this morning he was tripping over the shaft of his spear, but now he can respond decently to my own spear skills… not that I use spears, but I have fought some spear warriors before, giving me some experience with it. I had planned to record his progress several times a day, but at his pace, it would be better if I write at the end of the day and spend the rest of the time training with him… _

_January 15,_

_It's been a week since he started training, and though he wanted to train everyday, I told him to take it light every other day. We can't afford him burning out until he can stand and train on his own. I wrote last week that it would take a month before he could decently handle his weapon for use in battle, but I have been mistaken. His rapid growth in ability did not stop after the first day, he actually grew faster than I would expect. Within this week, he could match how I used the spear, but the spear is far from the weapon that I specialize in, and the difference, if you ask me, is very very very far from the sword… So if you're asking if I've become soft, I haven't… I decided to use blunt weapons to train him as it is closer to an ax, which I also use, but I'm not as skilled as. Once he can match my skills with the blunt weapon, then Cynthia and I can alternate with his training._

_January 30,_

_Leonard had matched and surpassed my skills with the blunt weapon, a great feat, considering it is far closer to an ax or a sword than the spear I used to train with him. I have marveled at his great mastery of the spear that I have sometimes overlooked some of his weaknesses. It was not until Cynthia had reminded me that I studied my notes once more and saw his flaws. In the past month, the only thing that really developed was his mastery, and maybe some father son bonding, but his strength and speed as well as his mastery of the basic warrior skills weren't as developed. Judging from the progress he made, I'd say that it won't take long for those skills to be developed anyway so no worries here. I have recently reported to Dances with Balrog about his training and he allowed me to let Leonard into the some of the missions so he can learn leadership strategies and practice analyzing his enemies. This will begin at the start of next month. Cynthia will also train him with faster handling of his weapon and agility training next month. During the rest of his training, his physical growth may slow down to make some space for his own maturity and the development of other factors besides strength and stamina, such as his speed and leadership training. No matter, it is better to grow like this than to advance into someone big and stupid; he is only 15 after all. Cynthia was worried that he might get left behind by the other warriors, but I assured her that his two friends are also undergoing the same training regime. Well that's it… I almost forgot, time for one of my famous end of the month jokes to finish a successful month. _

_Why did the blunt weapon warrior answer his beeper?_

_Because he was being PAGEd. Lmao. More next month…_

_April 28,_

_It has been four months since the start of his training and he has made excellent progress, far more in four months than most warriors do in a year. I am also aware that Riex and Arweild are at the same level as him, which is good. The standards for warrior advancement states that a warrior is recommended to complete at least a years worth of training before he can take the test for the second job, but I think that these boys are ready on their own. However, I am still worried about his experience outside of Perion. He's been with me on some of my missions outside but most of the time he was under my command or solo training around Perion. It would be best if he learned to lead his own group as well as freely discover explore Victoria. It is a good thing that he made a friend from Maple Island. I think his name is Sora or something of that sort, but he managed to find and write a letter to Leonard. It was because of his contacts in Kerning that he was able to track him as my son. Anyways, he will be here in a few days and I have allowed him to explore and have his own adventures. It should be good for his and his friend's growth. Too bad Riex and Arweild can't come with them. O well. The reason why I'm not going with him is because of the increase in missions. I won't be home as often as before; the same is true for Cynthia, and thus is one of the origins of our decision. When he returns, He will be ready to take the second job test… I guess that's it for now… no jokes this month, too hungry to think. I've fasted for the last two days to prepare for tomorrows Burger eating contest with the guys. Hahahaha! I still remember how the second job instructor devoured a week's worth of burgers in five minutes. That was hilarious…._

It was morning and the sun peeked through the cracks in between the mountains. A thief came from the west entrance of the city and walked across the market. Though other classes seem out of place in this city, he seemed to belong anywhere he went. That's one of Sora's gifts; being a born wanderer, he can feel at home almost anywhere. He rushed up the stone stairs and went straight for the house where his friend lived. Leonard was at the door, biding his parents goodbye. A short hello and they were off. The destination was east of Perion to the city of mages, Ellinia.

"So L"

"Hmm?"

"How've you been doing the past months?"

Leonard two apples from his pack, one he gave to Sora. "I've been good. You?"

"Not bad. I got myself a job at the local weapon store and scored some high quality Kumbis. Check em out." He flashed one of them and threw it at a snail. "Ha! Bullseye!"

"Nice shot… but a snail? You could've taken out at stump with that throw."

"Yeah but I don't want to." He returned, scratching his nose. "I noticed that you have a new weapon there. You use pole weapons now?"

"Yep. My dad actually forged this Mythril polearm himself." He held it up to the light, showing off its glimmer. "Wanna go for some training before mid-day?"

"Alright but lemme just warn you. I have mad skills."

"Heh. That's what I wanted to hear." With that, they dashed off to a nest of fireboars east of Perion. The two boys ran stealthly across the stone floors and remained unnoticed until the got within meters of the heard.

"Waaaahhoooo!" Sora yelled at the top of his lungs as he spiraled into the air, launching two Kumbis at an unsuspecting fireboar. "Haha! Lucky Seven. Beat that L."

He turned to see Leonard rushing into a group of six aware and very angry fireboars. He rushed with great speed for a warrior, with almost thief-like movement and the top-heavy polearm steady as a rock behind him. The second the boars were within his weapon range, he swung his weapon horizontally with great speed. The Mythril polearm sparked a flash of red light as it blew away six fireboars. The six boars squealed in pain and opened their eyes to see Leonard in mid air with his weapon overhead.

"SLASH BLAST!" he called as his polearm flashed a red light and slammed the ground with the force of an earthquake. The boars were dead in a flash.

Sora stood in awe as his friend took out six boars in two moves. "Man look at you. I thought I improved."

"Hehehe. No biggie. My dad just taught me that's all. No time to chat. Looks like those things have friends."

"You mean "had" friends." Sora smirked.

The battle continued for some time. They've been through one hundred fire boars and their pot supply was getting low. "Yo L. How many of these flaming pigs are there? My pots and Kumbis supply are getting low."

"A nest usually has a family of at least 300." He said, slamming one to the ground with a bone-shattering Power Strike.

"300? I only have one set of Kubis you know. I'm still not rich. And they're having a pot sale in Elenia so I only packed enough for the trip." Three boars rushed at Sora and he spiraled backwards while launching lucky sevens at all three. "That's 104… this is never gonna end. Did I mention how much I hate using Subis."

"No, you didn't, and come to think of it, only packed enough pots for the trip too. Guess we gotta retreat for now. I have a plan." Leonard stood back-to-back with Sora and briefed him. "Here's the plan. The fireboars will focus on the one they can hit."

"Right, so the decoy will distract them?"

"Correct. Now, notice those rocks above us?" Sora looked up and the simple plan struck him.

"Hehe. Way ahead of you. On three. One. Two. Three!" Leonard hurled his weapon to a fireboar and let himself get hit by another. With quick movement and an agile body, Sora rushed away from the distracted group and climbed up the ledge. "L! heads up!" He threw three lucky sevens into the rock patterns over the fireboars. The rock formations were brittle because of the scorching sun and a boulder easily dislodged from the top and fell towards the boars.

"O shit! Too big." Sora cursed. Leonard moved out of the way but the boulder was too big to simply run away from. He dove forward and slammed his polearm to the ground to propel himself with extra speed and distance. He was clear from the boulder's path and the wind tossed him to where Sora was.

"Hahaha! That was crazy!" Sora said.

"Really? I do that all the time during my dad's missions. Well now that that's over, we should head to Ellinia." Leonard put his polearm back to his holster and noticed a black marble in the mouth of a dead boar. He took it and examined it. "Hello. What is this?"

"What is it?" the ever curious Sora asked.

"It looks like some kind of marble. That's weird. In all my months of training on fireboars, I've never seen one drop something like this. No matter. We'll take a closer look at it later. We have to go and cover as much ground as we can before lunch. The mid-day sun is HOT." Sora gave a nod and the two friends returned to their three-day trip to Ellinia.


	9. Karen of the Moon

**Chapter 8: Karen of the Moon**

It was a peaceful day in Henesys, much like any other day. Out of the morning mist that slowly drew back, leaving dew on the grass, a girl walked through the streets on her way to Athena Pierce's house. Karen is fifteen but was already taking solo missions. She graduated her second job test recently and was immediately registered legible to accept missions.

"Karen, child, come and sit." Athena remarked as soon as the door opened. It was as if she knew Karen was arriving that morning to report on her last sortie; and thus demonstrates a bowman's naturally sharp senses.

"Thank you for the offer" Karen responded. "but I cannot stay long. My mother is also expecting me to return."

"No, no, I insist. I have some matters which have to be mentioned. Sit for a while. Tea?" she offered.

"No, thank you." She politely declined.

"Well then, let us get started." Athena's voice suddenly turned serious. "I have a mission for you, but this will not be official. Let me brief you with the details before you choose whether to accept it. You are aware of the events in Ellinia, correct?"

"Yes. They are entering the busiest time of the year, where foreign and local trades attract all sorts of people from all corners of Victoria."

"Precisely, but it seems there is more to it than that. I know the leader of Ellinia, Grendel, personally and though he is a smart and very capable leader, he sometimes lacks the natural intuition to see problems beneath the surface. Thus I want to help him out, but as you said, this period in time is very important to the mages and I don't want to report any problems unless I have sufficient proof of its existence." Athena took a small pouch from a drawer and showed its content to Karen. The pouch had concealed a black marble, similar to what the second job test monsters would drop, but this one had something inside. Karen took the marble and looked at it closely, revealing the shape of a cat-shaped eye.

"This… What is this? It looks like a dark marble but its different." Karen questioned.

"Indeed. This marble I found one night around the outskirts of Ellinia. But what was more intriguing was that monsters looked like they were killing each other for it. I decided to study it and I have yet to produce any results. According to my intuition, this may be very troublesome. This occurrence became more suspicious because of the time of year."

"Might I ask a few questions?"

"Speak"

"What were you doing in Ellinia territory at night?"

"So I am a suspect as well?" Karen nodded her head. Athena took her seat and continued. "The fact unknown to most people is that we, the four leaders of Victoria were close friends since childhood, and ever so often, we would visit each other for a little chat. I was merely wishing my good friend Grendel good luck for the coming event."

"Alright, that I can believe, but do you really believe that there may be a conspiracy large enough to affect Ellinia just because of a marble fought over by a few monsters?"

"That is a reason why I present you with this mission. My intuition has saved me from many battles and it did act up when I stumbled upon the marble but this reason is not enough to even make a mission of it. The other part of this investigation would be espionage."

"So your hunch is only one part of the mission?" Karen asked politely.

"Indeed. The other half is to gather information on a certain criminal guild that was said to show up for the event. We cannot prevent them from intruding because there was not enough evidence to prove their previous cases. Note that there may be investigators from other cities as well, but the marble is only an addition specifically for this mission."

"One last thing. Do you suspect a connection between this black marble and the Purple Shadows?"

"Somewhat dear child, somewhat. But if there is a connection then it may be the proof that we need to finally arrest the leader of Purple Shadows. The mission will be conducted mostly at night and with secrecy, that is why a newly graduated bowman like you is perfect for it. Will you accept, Karen of the Moon?"

"Yes. I will. But please, just Karen. That title does not fit me, not yet. Give me a few days to prepare and I will head off to Ellinia." With that, she bid her mentor farewell and prepared for the trip.

Three days later and Karen was within Ellinia territory. The shady afternoon was and the leaves of the tall trees made it almost dark as night in some parts of the road but Karen was used to fighting in such an environment. She traveled along the thick branches while effortlessly taking down monsters with a single arrow shot from her Vaulture bow. She moved gracefully along the road; her brown hair fashioned into large spikes to the sides. Her Dark Piettra set was a perfect fit, allowing her to move freely while her Red Distinction and Red Pierre shoes warned nearby monsters that she is dangerous. Karen's red eyes ensured that she never missed a shot even under the cover of darkness.

Karen kept moving even until the moon was bright. Her surroundings were dim, giving the perfect chance for an ambush. "_Not that anyone would ambush me here."_ She thought. She stopped in an open area when the crows suddenly scattered. Something was coming her way. She readied her bow and arrows and listened carefully. Two throwing stars spun from the bushes and she immediately countered them with her double shot. Not a second after she deflects the stars that two figures emerged from the leaves above her. There was no time to shoot, she jumped and rolled out of the way as another volley of throwing stars came from one of the shadows. They landed right by her foot. _"That aim"_ she thought. _"That one's not used to the darkness"_ Closely looking at the stars and she made a shocking discovery.

"Subis?" She mumbled questioningly when the other figure swung his long weapon horizontally. Karen ducked, the gust from the swing knocking her hat off.

"Power Strike!" The figure called with his weapon already over his head. With great speed and strength, the figure smashed his weapon to the ground strong enough to destroy the thick and hard branches in its path. Karen barely escaped it with a side step but it was all thanks to the clouds that covered the moonlight that the figure never saw her move. She quickly retaliated, grabbing the limb of her bow and struck the figure with a direct hit. She quickly loaded her arrows for a double shot as the figure hopped backwards and fired a shot only to be dodged, and then she fired three shots in rapid succession only to be parried by the figure's weapon. Karen quickly noticed the accomplice readying his stars and fired an arrow bomb. The flash gave her some time to take cover in the bushes.

"These guys are strong." She mumbled, watching the two figures in the open area. She was in trouble if she doesn't think of a plan. She can't use arrow bomb again without risking reinforcements to come. It also seemed like the two figures were conversing as they stayed in the middle of the open area, where the moonlight will expose any attack. It was time for her to set aside her bow and bring out her other weapon: her analytical and trapping abilities. Karen stayed in the protection of the bushes, where it was pitch black and observed.

"_That figure with the stars is definitely a thief, and the other one with such power, a warrior. Just staying here and shooting at them will only be a waste of arrows. That warrior is good enough to parry them. It seems like he's in a higher rank than I am. As for the thief, those Subis must have been a ploy. There was no reason to attack me out of the blue so they must be from Purple Shadows, and that means they won't have a problem with better stars. However, he has great speed and agility, which means I am at a disadvantage when I expose myself. That warriors not going to stand around either, but as long as I keep my distance I should be fine… They have not made any moves. Seems like their waiting for me to start… but I wont fall for that tactic. Running wont work this time. This place is a dead end and the only way out is through them. I'll have to fight them here. The advantage I have is that they can't see well in the dark. If that is the case, then I can win this."_

Karen moved quickly through the bushes, setting her strings-and-arrows traps.

"Let's see how you move." She whispered, pulling a string to release an arrow trap away from her. The warrior quickly parried the attack and the thief threw stars at the spot where the arrow emerged. The warrior quickly moved to spot marked by the stars and swung his weapon but slashed nothing by leaves. During this time, Karen carefully observed how they moved and improved on her strategy. She pulled more strings, and more arrows flew towards the two, and every time, the warrior would parry them and the thief would mark the spot and the warrior will blindly smack the bushes. Karen was careful not to release all of her arrows, taking it slowly to tire them out. The plan seems to be working as the two became more agitated. As if out of rage, the thief blindly threw all of his stars into the surrounding area, hitting nothing but trees and bushes. It was now Karen's turn to strike. The thief has little to no stars left. All that was left was to take down the warrior and she has the advantage. She moved quietly along the bushes, into the warrior's blind spot when the thief suddenly threw two stars at her direction. Surprised, Karen fired a double shot, deflecting the stars, but there was something else behind the stars. There was no time to react as it flew past her and exploded, blowing her into the middle of the open area.

"How? How did they see me? They're not supposed to be able to see in pitch black." She looked at the bushes and saw that the stars were reflecting the light of the moon. The bushes became bright enough to expose her position. She was shocked to know that her plan had failed and that she was made a fool of.

"Dodge this!" She turned and saw the warrior ready to strike. She closed her eyes and in her panic, she shrieked.


	10. First Encounter

**Chapter 9: First Encounter**

It was afternoon and Leonard and Sora were in Ellinia territory. The change from a barren dessert to a lush forest, where the branches themselves are the roads to the city of mages, was amazing for Leonard as this was only the second time he's been to this area.

"You're pretty new at this place aren't you?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. This forest is thicker than the one in Maple Island. Guess the dessert was the only place I know. I still have much to learn."

"And that's why I'm here. Don't worry buddy, as the wanderer, I can show you the prettiest sights around Victoria." Sora replied; patting his friend's back. "Speaking of pretty sights, I have a funny story to tell you. I was heading back from Henesys when I thought I should take a detour and check out Lith for some good deals. Anyways, it rained for a bit and I decided to wait it out near the river. I was camping out, trying to start a fire when I heard a sound in the river. I looked through the bushes and saw this girl bathing in the river-"

"Hold up. You saw a girl bathing in the river? As in a human girl?" Leonard asked with his eyes wide open."

Sora giggled. "Yeah. Interested?"

"No!... Just continue" he said with his face red.

"Alright. So I looked and saw this girl bathing in the river. I could only see her back and most of her body was under water, but she had this silky, smooth, firm skin, and it made me twitch. Her hair was a silky gorgeous brown and her face gleamed with those bright blue eyes. She was pretty." Sora purposely described it with excruciating detail just to tease his friend, who gave a gulp after hearing about it. "I wanted to see more so I tried to walk closer. My heart was thumping like crazy and my body was shaking. Just as I was in the bushes next to the river, I heard my foot snap a twig. A few seconds later, arrows were flying towards me. I thought I'd look back and see but I feared that I was going to die if I had stopped running. And so ended my great day, but I did learn something."

"Like what?"

"Girls can go from angels to savage drakes in an instant."

"HAHAHAHAHA! My dad told me the same thing the night before I left. I wasn't sure at first, but since it came from your personal experience, I'd have to believe it."

"Hehehe. It is pretty funny but hey, I don't make up these coincidences, they come to me." The two boys continued their conversation until the sun had almost set.

"I think its time we set up camp." Leonard said. They had covered much ground; only a few more hours till they had sight of the city, but due to the recent attacks, it was best that they rest and continue in the morning.

"Alrighty. I'll look for something to munch on. Be right back." Sora walked a few feet away and suddenly stopped. For a long time there was an eerie silence and nothing could be heard aside from the wind rustling the leaves. The two boys felt that there was danger around them. Leonard slowly reached for his polearm and held it tight. Sora prepared his remaining Kumbis and his Subis in check. There was more silence as the boys scanned their darkened surroundings with their eyes.

"On second thought…" Sora started "I should stay and entertain our guests." Just as he finished, a arrow made of fire went straight for Sora. With fast reflexes, Leonard went in between them and swung his polearm to meet the arrow. The fire arrow, though only one of it put up a fight before it was extinguished.

"Over there!" Sora exclaimed, vaulting over Leonard, throwing his strongest Lucky Seven at the target. They heard the sound of contact but no cries. Three figures casually walked out of the bushes, wearing dark purple hooded overalls. From their weapons, the boys could tell that they were two mages and an assassin, and all three of them outrank them by a lot.

"Impressive that you can stop my fire arrow." One of the hooded men said, holding out the Kumbis thrown to him. "But you'll have to do much better than that to beat us."

"Who are you?" asked Leonard, holding up his weapon.

"Hehehe. We are Purple Shadows, but that is not important. We don't want to fight so if you would kindly leave all your belongings here and run, we promise not to hurt you too badly."

The two boys stood there, their eyes not leaving the men. Sweat poured down their faces while they stood their ground against invaders who outrank them.

"Hehe. If you two are stupid then I won't hold back in killing you. Don't even try to run. One of ours went ahead and he will kill you if he sees you." The assassin threw stars at the two. Sora jumped back to avoid it and Leonard to the side while deflecting it. The stars were strong enough to penetrate deep into the trunk of a tree. The assassin was throwing Tobis, an expensive throwing star and one of the strongest around. When the boys got back to their feet, they engaged the lone assassin in battle, as the mages stood back and watched. Sora jumped, assaulting the enemy with his remaining Kumbis while the assassin effortlessly dodged them. This gave the young warrior time to get within weapon range of his enemy. He swung his weapon fast and continuously but the assassin was too fast even for him and kept avoiding.

"I'm not very good with close combat but you should still watch your back boy." The assassin leaped over Leonard's strongest horizontal swing and was right over behind him, pulling out his stars. "Game over."

"Gotcha! Power Strike!" The assassin gasped in surprise as he saw the warrior rotate his body and switch his hand positions to change the direction of the polearm's momentum, and added more power to it. The assassin was unable to move as the crushing power strike propelled him to his allies. "Run!" He yelled as he picked up something the assassin dropped. The boys ran far and fast as the Purple Shadows got up to their feet.

"GRRAAAAHHH! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" cried the assassin as he pursued the boys.

The boys ran as fast as they could through on the branches and it seemed like the only one who could catch up was the furious assassin.

"Sora! Catch! Use this!" Leonard threw what he had picked up to Sora.

"This is the set of Tobis from that sin. But its messed up. Shit! I can't to use it." They continued to run but Sora soon realized that the branches were more flexible in this part of the forest. _"This may just work" _ he thought.

"L! Try to slow him down for a bit! Direct attack wont work so were gonna have to surprise him!" Leonard gave a nod and continuously used his power strike to propel himself forward while breaking the branches at the same time. Sora quickly vanished into the bushes, leaving Leonard to be pursued. The assassin became even more furious and used all of his energy just to catch up.

"Shit!" Leonard cursed as he saw the assassin only a few meters away, leaping for a close range shot. Just before he released his stars, a branch sped from the branch path hitting the thug hard in between his legs, knocking him out.

"Hah! Widowmaker. Beat that L."

"Nice one… but we have to keep going. The moon is high. That should give us enough light.'

"Right. Follow me. I know a short cut through a dead end. They won't think of looking for us there and it will get us through to Ellinia faster." The two then made their way until they saw an opening at the end of the dark alley of branches. "There it is. The tree shortcut should be on the other end of that clearing."

They were a few yards from the clearing when they noticed a silhouette in the middle. "Sora stop." The warrior called. "Looks like another one of them."

"You sure L? I can't see anything through the darkness. Even the moonlight's only giving me a shadowy figure."

"He must be one of them. No one would go out on their own because of the recent attacks. Besides, that sin said there was another one."

"Alright… now what do we do?" Sora turned to Leonard, who was thinking of a plan.

"If we turn back then those guys will find us. If we go past this guy then he will alert his allies and follow us through the shortcut. We have to take him out. Somehow this one feels weaker than the other three. I should be able to think of a plan to take him out fast."

"Alright. Lead the way L."

"OK listen carefully. We're going to do a feint operation surprise attack. Throw stars at him from our position then we'll jump out for a surprise attack from above. From there, keep throwing even if is just Subis, just to throw his balance. I'll get close and finish him off. It may sound simple, but at least fewer things can go wrong. Got it?"

"Right. On three. One, two, three!" Sora let out his last pair of Kumbis from the bushes but the figure countered them with arrows. The two boys leaped while Sora continued to bombard their enemy with stars. The figure rolled out of the way but Leonard was able to get close quickly. His first attack was avoided by this agile bowman.

"Power Strike!" he called but the clouds covered the moonlight giving him little visibility, and his attack hit nothing but branch. The figure hit him once, pushing him back. The clouds cleared out a bit and he saw two glimmering objects as he jumped back. _"Arrows"_ he thought, as he dodged the two simultaneous arrows. Leonard quickly got back to his feet, just in time to parry three shots. Sora was able to see his enemy and prepared his stars but a flash from an arrow blinded them temporarily.

The two boys quickly recovered only to realize that their enemy had hidden in the pitch black bushes while they were at the centre of open area, where the moonlight shown down on them. "Pfft! Its bad enough that I'm using Subis, but if those clouds cover the light, I have nill visibility."

"Same here. But it looks like that thug doesn't have a problem seeing in the dark. If he stays in the bushes, he has the advantage. We need a new plan." Leonard said.

"You can parry those arrows right? So all we have to do is wait until he attacks and charge to his position."

"No… that won't work. My dad taught me about this kind of situation. When an enemy has the mind to hide and wait, then he has the mind to think and set up traps. There clouds have cleared so his best chance is to stay in the dark and trap us. Give me some time. I think I have a plan." Both sides were quiet for some time before Leonard handed something to Sora.

"This is… a bomb?" asked Sora.

"Yeah, that guy dropped it after my power strike."

"If only we can make something that will last longer than this flash of light." Sora eyed his surroundings and saw the Subis on the ground, twinkling. _"The Subis"_ he thought.

"L. The Subis can reflect light. If we can get enough close to the bushes, they should light up and give us visibility."

"Yeah, but just throwing them around is dangerous… Wait! I got it. If he's smart, he should know that I can parry any direct attacks so he there is a high chance that he'll set up traps that will shoot those arrows away from his current position. All we have to do is bring out our acting skills." Leonard faced Sora, who had a smile on his face.

"Heh, sounds fun. What's the plan?"

"Basically, when an arrow flies, I will concentrate on parrying it while you throw as many stars where they came from, but the true objective is to spread the Subis. I'll then charge in and swing at the bushes. Try to act like your getting agitated over time so it won't be more obvious when you waste more stars. When we can see him, use the bomb to blow him to our position. Got it?"

"Yeah. Brilliant as usual." So they waited until the first arrow finally rocketed to them. Leonard parried it while Sora shot his stars, followed by the warrior charging. More arrows came and their plan was put into action.

"Time to end this." Sora said. He cried angrily and threw all of his stars randomly like mad. In the end the Subis did reflect light, enough to show the thug's silhouette. It was not long until both boys could tell his position. The thug moved slowly, then Sora threw his stars towards him with the bomb trailing closely behind. The stars were parried but the bomb was able to pass through him and blow him out of the bushes.

Before he could recover, Leonard was already within weapon range and dropped his polearm with great power. It was a direct hit but Leonard heard a shriek. _"Shit!"_ he thought and stopped his weapon as fast as he could.


End file.
